Portable phone battery network launched in London

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Everyone hates running out of power when they’re out – and nobody really wants to carry around a bulky charger. But there might be a solution, thanks to Save Squared which launches this evening in London.

The service is pretty simple: it takes the London Cycle Hire (Boris Bike) model and applies it to portable phone batteries. If you run out of power on the go, you can simply go to one of the retailers supporting the service and pick up a portable battery pack. Then you can carry it around with you and charge your phone, going about your day. And then when you’re done, all you have to do is drop it back off at any of the supporting stores (it doesn’t have to be the same one). Easy.

Call me crazy – but I think it just might work. The convenience of not having to drop off a battery where you picked it up means that such a service should make things easier – and could really help out if you’re in a pinch. Crucially, pricing isn’t outrageous either – with a charger costing £5 for 24 hours rental of the charger. (It doesn’t appear to increment – it appears to be a flat fee). You also have to pay a £25 deposit, but you’ll get this back when you return the unit.

At the moment the service only works in central London – and there’s literally only ten retails (or “S2 Points”) on board, but this could conceivably grow quickly. You can download an app to locate your nearest S2 points… but better remember to do that before you run out of power.

So it’s an interesting idea, and all power to them for trying to make a business of it.